Unconventional
by Nightambre
Summary: Inuzuka Kiba and Yamanaka Ino. Nothing between them will likely ever follow the status quo. A collection of stories done to LJ's 30Kisses [KibaIno] Rated to be safe.
1. A Lucky Color

_Theme #19: Red_

* * *

He knew he shouldn't have gone with flowers.

She was standing there, on the step leading up to her front door, and looking down at the several red carnations he had in his hand. The look on her face was one of shock, but he was pretty sure it was the bad sort of shock.

Maybe he shouldn't have held onto them so tightly on the way here. How did he know that would make them look slightly withered? He was never good with flowers. Flowers were girly stuff after all. But looking at the state they were in, and the look on her face, he was rethinking the entire affair. He should've bought a stuffed animal. Or if he actually was going to stick with the flowers thing, he should've gone with something a little bit more romantic. Like roses.

Truth be told, he thought about the roses, but he just couldn't afford to get them. Why did all the good stuff have to be so expensive? Good clothes, good restaurant with good food, good flowers… He really wanted to impress his date, since this was a one in a million shot, but now it looked like he just blew it because he went with the flower thing.

And he should've known that Yamanaka Ino'd be all picky about the flowers. Her look was driving that point home.

"Um, Kiba?"

Her voice jarred him out of his slightly panicked reverie. "Yeah?"

She pointed to the flowers he was holding. "You're squishing them."

He swore slightly and tried to loosen his grip. One of the flowers fell, and before he got to it, she was already bending down to pick it up. She took the time to inspect it, then reached out to take the remaining two from his hand. He swallowed the blush that threatened when her hand touched his.

He watched as she twirled them in her fingers. She didn't doll up as much as he expected her too, but he was glad he wasn't going to feel overdressed next to her because of it. Just some really simple black dress, and a minimum of make up and jewelry. And she still looked beautiful. He would count himself lucky for even scoring a dinner date with her, but the fact she kept staring at the flowers was making him feel like his luck was waning.

When she pulled a kunai from her hand bag (why she even kept one he had no clue) and went to apparently begin cutting up his flowers, he figured that was her clever way of saying he screwed up. He turned away slightly, wondering how to get out of this without losing face. He felt her fingers pull at his shirt, though, and he stopped.

"Hey, where're you going? I'm just going to be a minute."

He gave a slight sulk. "I jus' don't wanna see you cuttin' up flowers." Especially the ones he gave her.

She laughed outright at him, and he smiled in return despite the feeling of impending doom. "I'll only be a minute, okay?" She cuffed him against the arm. "Relax, okay?" She used the kunai to trim the stems, particularly where he had squished them. She replaced the kunai in her bag, and then used some hair tie to wind two together, and then she pinned the two of them to her dress. She took the final one and stuck it behind her left ear. It gave her an attractive splash of color, and he found himself staring mutely at her until she jabbed him again.

"What was that for?" He growled, and rubbed his arm.

She smiled and then took his arm. "You can stare and drool at me when we get to dinner. I'm starved!"

For a moment, he just stood there dumbfounded, but she was insisting they go, so they did. His eyes kept drifting back to the flower behind her ear. Red was a very pleasing color for her, he realized. "So, uh, guess y'liked the flowers, huh?"

Her smile was almost blinding. "You kidding? Carnations are one of my favorites! I can't believe you knew that."

He stared at her. Carnations? They were one of her favorite flowers? "I, uh… didn't know that."

She looked at him for a moment, before she smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Well, now you do."

He couldn't help the dumb grin that spread across his features just then. Maybe the luck that enabled him to land a date with Ino in the first place was still with him.

And damn, did she ever look good in red.


	2. Star Stuff

_Theme #20: The Road Home

* * *

_

The night was cloudless, the moon full enough that the stars stood out in sharp contrast against the blue-black sky. It caught her attention easily and she found herself staring up at them. It didn't matter that she was supposed to be moving, returning home after a rough mission. It didn't matter that a good portion of her body was bruised and broken and she was forcing herself to walk on sheer will power alone. The sky and the stars were just so inviting.

The sky had always been one of her secret fascinations. Like her childhood friend, she would often watch it. Not for the clouds, but for the stars. If she could, she'd simply drown in them. But she knew she couldn't.

"Y'know, when I heard ya stop, I thought y'were hurtin' again?"

Ino blinked and turned to look at her team leader. "Nah, I just...need a break for a moment."

"Told'ja walkin' on a busted leg was stupid." But he didn't force the issue. He simply let her lean against the tree and watched as her eyes again went to the sky. He glanced back over his shoulder, as if trying to figure out what ever it was she was looking at. Seeing nothing, Kiba scratched his scalp and looked back down at her.

"Whut?"

She didn't need to ask him what he meant. She simply pointed. "The stars are really bright tonight. I love to just sit and watch them."

Kiba moved to sit near her. She felt a little warm, but she ignored it. "So, what's so special 'bout 'em? They're just stars. 'Course, with it bein' as clear as it is, it helps us navigate, so I guess it's good."

She found herself smiling, and she murmured quietly, "Ever wonder about them? I mean, you know what they are, stars that is. But, sometimes I feel that... maybe we're all connected in some way. Some theorists say the universe was created in a big bang. That means...we're all created from the same ... stuff. And that we're all connected somehow." She gave a wistful smile. "We're star stuff, y'know?" She looked away from the sky and outright laughed at the blank expression on Kiba's face.

"No wonder you don't got a boyfriend," was his only reply.

Ino simply shrugged. "Well, I figure that any guy that wants to be with me longer than a couple of dates will have to deal with the whole package. Shikamaru has his cloud watching to use for that purpose while I have my funny theory about stars."

"An' any guy that don't get it?"

"Gets the boot. And it's not so much 'not getting'," Ino explained, "It's putting up with. We all have our little quirks. I guess this is just one way of weeding out who'll be worth keeping around."

Kiba looked thoughtful for a moment, simply gazing up at the moonlit sky, while Ino busied herself with re-splinting her leg so they could continue back to Konoha. When she stood up, she caught him looking at her.

"So, I put up with your 'star stuff' spiel, when do we get t'go out?"

For a moment, Ino simply regarded him. He sounded so sincere. For a moment, she thought that she actually connected with him on a level she couldn't achieve with anyone else save for Shikamaru. But that had to have been a trick of her mind. Or, perhaps, a trick of her heart, considering how long it had been since she had the company of someone who was more than a friend.

"I think you're a little bit confused. That logic only applies to people I've already dated and I want to see if they're worth doing more with. I don't use that to see if I'm going to date them first," she said in a light grumble as she pushed herself off the tree. She grabbed her pack and with a slight grunt, started walking. He moved up along side her to make sure she didn't fall over, but he didn't outwardly help her.

"So, that means... we've passed the dating stage an' we're now a couple." He gave a grin and leered a bit. "Care t'seal it with a kiss?"

Ino blinked at the statement. Its randomness and how quickly it ruined a calm, serious mood stunned her. After a moment, however, she laughed. It was a quiet laugh, but it was no less genuine. "You were doing good there for a moment, Kiba. I was almost convinced. But you had to go and ruin it."

The grin he gave was endearing, even with its feral quality. "Wouldn't be me if I didn't."

The statement caused Ino to lapse into silence, and the two made their way home quietly. All Ino could do was reflect on the odd moment that had been shared between them. She tried to figure out why that moment of connection and his words about 'being himself' hit such a chord within her. In the end, Ino simply brushed it off as an isolated incident. She was pretty sure it would be forgotten.

However, a small dog plushy that was delivered to the hospital room she was assigned to upon her return proved her wrong. On its collar was a piece of paper, with a day and time, along with a location, which Ino assumed to be a reservation for a date, and two words which made her smile:

_Star stuff._


	3. Gone

_#24: Good Night

* * *

_

It was a mission that went horribly wrong. She tried everything in her power to save him, and considering she was the Hokage's apprentice, there was a lot she was able to try.

Still, for all of her wishing, and knowing what he had ahead of him, she couldn't save him.

Sakura pronounced him dead shortly before midnight.

* * *

A hearty, healthy cry filled the room just after midnight. Cheers and congratulations soon followed. She was exhausted, but there was a feeling of accomplishment as she gazed upon the face of her newborn son. She felt strange though. Even Shikamaru, who helped her with the whole labor, was displaying more joy at the birth than she was.

She blamed it on the odd feeling she'd had over the last few hours. Even as she cradled the newborn infant against her, something didn't feel right. She tried to smilem as she was truly thankful to have come out of such an ordeal fine and with a healthy baby, but she couldn't put her entire heart into it.

She couldn't stop anticipating something bad had happened.

* * *

A message arrived for her within a few hours, and she knew then that her feeling had been true. She looked into the eyes of her best friend and listened to the words with a detached expression. She could not bring herself to weep. Standing, she guided Sakura over to the bassinet and showed off her son.

She held the baby then, and didn't put him down for the rest of the night.

Despite her exhaustion and the fact she had a newborn, she asked her friend to take her to see him. Sakura protested only slightly, but after making Ino promise she wouldn't overexert herself, she took her where Ino wanted to go.

She knew it would be the last time she saw him, so Ino made sure to say good-bye then.

* * *

She didn't name her son right away. She wanted to make sure she had the right name for him. In her eyes, it had to be 'just right'. There was no pressure to name him during the few days she remained in the hospital, and no pressure during the services.

It was at the services that she finally allowed the grief to set in. Trying to take care of a child, Ino had distanced herself from her own grief, but hearing the words of the Hokage presiding, she couldn't contain it anymore. Fortunately, her father set aside his animosity for her choice of lover and was able to support his daughter. He even offered to take his grandson for a night or two, so she could have some time alone.

She declined the offer. In all honesty, her son was all she had left of him.

* * *

The first night alone in her own home was awkward. She couldn't get over the odd feeling of loneliness. It had been different when she was alone due to missions and the like. There had always been the knowledge that they would be together again.

But now, he wasn't coming back.

That night, she allowed herself to truly look at the life she had brought into this world. The red marks upon his face were just the start of the similarities the child had with his father, and she could already see how much the child would resemble him. Choking back a sob, she leaned forward and kissed the mark upon the baby's cheek. It was a small consolation that she would be able to continue an old habit.

A quiet goodnight was whispered into the darkness, and she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

The child remained nameless for nearly a month.

She was careful not to call him something that he would get used to, though she knew what the boy's family name would be, regardless of the fact she wasn't married. She wanted a _good_ name for him.

_"Can't take th' risk of you endin' up like my mom."_

The words played in her head as she knelt before the memorial. Resting her son against her knees, propping him up in a sitting position, Ino watched him for a moment as his unfocused eyes tried to take in the world around him.

"Still ended up like your mom, anyway," she murmured in answer, looking at one of the more recently carved names on the dark marble.

She thought for a moment, then rested her hands on the tiny shoulders of the infant before her.

"I've decided to name your son, finally. The name I picked out should be fitting. He's stubborn like you, won't let something alone once it's caught his attention. He'll probably be rolling over soon because of that. And there's also this obsession with my breasts that goes way beyond normal." She gave a soft laugh, then bit her lip to help keep her composure.

She fell silent, feeling silly for having half expected the stone to talk back to her. The child made a noise and she glanced down. There was a smile, and she hugged her son. "C'mon, Kiba. Mommy's kind of hungry and we should go eat before Daddy start's bitching about how I need to eat more."

he child was scooped up and Ino turned to walk away from the memorial. Then she stopped, just for a moment, and turned back to lift her fingers to her lips and then press them against her lover's name.

"I miss you. See you around."

And without another word, she left.


End file.
